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Martinsburg’s Eugene German boxes out Huntington’s Chancelor Wooding while waiting for a rebound. (Photo by Sholten Singer)

Since the calandar turned to 2013, Washington (21-5) has gone 14-3. All three losses have been to top-ranked Martinsburg.

Washington fell 72-58 at Martinsburg Jan. 4, at home 61-42 Jan. 29 (without Kendall Smith) and 61-55 in the sectional championship March 5.

"I'm ready right now," said Washington's Dominique Newman, who had 17 points in the Patriots' 60-56 win over Parkersburg South Thursday. We wanted another shot at them."

Martinsburg (24-2) advanced to the semifinals with a 60-50 win over Huntington Wednesday.

"I think it says about the quality of basketball in the (Eastern)?Panhandle," Martinsburg coach Dave Rogers said. "People should be excited about it. We know how good they are. They are an athletic team. They rebound really well. Yes, we won the first two games by big margins, 14 points and 19 points.

"But they switched up their defenses the last time,went to a zone and gave us some problems. Look, we know each other well. They know us; we know them. It should be a great semifinal game."

Washington coach Don Bullett concurred.

"Martinsburg has an outstanding team," he said. "They are the No. 1 seed here for a reason. The one thing they have is a bench. Dave can run eight, nine, 10 kids out there. That's one reason they are so good. They simply wear teams down."

Martinsburg has won 11 straight games since a 68-59 overtime loss to Cleveland Villa-Angela St. Joe's Jan. 26 in a tournament in Ohio. The Bulldogs also lost to Morgantown (64-59), seeded sixth in the state tournament, Jan. 19. Martinsburg beat Morgantown 55-39 in a tournament in Martinsburg in December.

Dominique Newman leads the Patriots, averaging 14.9 points per game. All five of the Patriots starters, all underclassmen, average double figures.

Martinsburg is led by state player of the year candidate Donte' Grantham, who averages 18.7 points per game. He had 16 points and 13 rebounds Wednesday. Jalen Lewis, who has 64 3-pointers, averages 15.4 points per game. Jordan Robinson had 10 points Wednesday, including back-to-back 3s late that rescued the Bulldogs. He averages nine points per game.

Denzel Cole (7 ppg) and Eugene German (5.5 ppg) are the other starters.

Incidentally, Bullett played for Rogers and was also on his coaching staff at Martinsburg.

"I have a lot of respect for coach Rogers, and if you look at the success he's had, it's phenomenal," Bullett said. "There's a reason for that. He works hard."

Rogers certainly is a fan of Bullett as well.

"Donnie has done a great job at Washington," Rogers said. "He has made that program into a winner. They will be a handful. He'll have them ready."

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Newman said the team was also playing for another reason.

"We had a player who passed away during our sophomore year, James Fletcher, and he has been an inspiration for us this season," Newman said. "He was my best friend. We came up playing basketball together. He was the kid who would get me to go play in the park, even when I didn't feel like it. We're playing the game for him."

The winner will face the winner of Woodrow Wilson vs. South Charleston in the title game at 7:15 p.m. Saturday.